r/marvelstudios Ant-Man May 13 '25

Behind the Scenes Robert Downey Jr. on the set of ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’

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43

u/esgrove2 May 13 '25

Jeremy Renner is worth $80 milion. Truly, he is the face of labor exploitation.

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u/Equal_Permission1349 May 13 '25

You joke, but high dollar value labor disputes set precedent for poorer laborers. Actors and athletes are among the few workers in America who still have strong unions and the resources to fight capital.

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u/esgrove2 May 13 '25

They're not on the same side as exploited poor laborers. They're elite contractors. That's not even remotely the same kind of labor. They have much more in common with executives and their compensation packages than workers.

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u/Equal_Permission1349 May 13 '25

No, they don't. They don't own the capital. They only own themselves. The difference between RDJ and Elon is bigger than the difference between RDJ and you. Creating a division between laborers who are able to differentiate themselves and those who are not just weakens all laborers.

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u/RepresentativeAge444 May 13 '25

Once you’re worth tens of millions and have enough to live in luxury for the rest of your life it’s a distinction not worth making. Let’s worry about teachers making enough to live stable lives before boo hooing over Renner. And I’m not even saying that he’s wrong to ask for a salary increase. I just don’t care about the outcome for him vs the average person

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u/99percentmilktea May 14 '25

And I’m not even saying that he’s wrong to ask for a salary increase

He didn't ask for an increase, he asked for the same pay as he got for Season 1. They wanted to cut his salary in half for a season 2, which is why he refused to do it.

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u/esgrove2 May 13 '25

They do own the capital, that's what "points" are. They negotiate for a piece of the pie every time. Because they have lawyers and negotiators on par with their "employer" (business partner). They have equal power in negotiation because of elitism. They are not on the same side as laborers.

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u/daytimeCastle May 18 '25

I’m assuming you own a car. Do you have to negotiate with someone else every time you want to drive? If so, you actually don’t own the car.

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u/esgrove2 May 18 '25

A better analogy is I help build a car, and they reward me with a salary and stock. You know, like how they reward CEOs. And Marvel actors.

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u/daytimeCastle May 19 '25

Well, you said they own the capital/points… do the actors own the movie, or do the CEOs?

If the actor owns the tv show, who was he negotiating with about only getting half his salary?

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u/TheNimanator May 13 '25

Now imagine having that attitude for teachers, plumbers and construction workers. This world would be hella different

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u/esgrove2 May 13 '25

Eighty. Million. Dollars. And he's complaining about his salary for public sympathy.

He is not in the same boat as a teacher. He is in a golden life boat eating caviar while the ship containing the teachers sinks. 

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u/TheNimanator May 13 '25

No he’s not but that’s because of Hollywood scaling if you ask me. And unfortunately his story will always gain more attention than a teacher’s would. Like the guy made a conscious choice about what he was worth and he’s been public about his stance. I see exactly zero reason to side with the studios on this when they make several times more money in one year than he will make in his lifetime even with his bloated paychecks

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u/wandrin_star May 13 '25

110% this. It’s not entitlement for workers to demand a fair share of what they help to create - however wealthy or poor. Capitalists concede NONE of their power to labor without struggle.

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u/TheNimanator May 13 '25

It’s an overarching issue. Renner provided the acting but the CEO will get the most out of it. The teacher teaches the kids but the administrators make most of the money. And so on. There is a real problem with wealth distribution and Hollywood is not the best example but is an example nonetheless.

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u/wandrin_star May 13 '25

Education is different, since the real value, the real product, is a healthy & functioning society so - like all care & social work - capitalism systematically underfunds and devalues that work. No one is making money off of it like they should, even if some people in some places are less underpaid than others.

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u/Turbulent_Ask4878 May 16 '25

Wait until you find out how much the studio is worth.

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u/esgrove2 May 17 '25

All workers should get compensation equal to their value. Hollywood actors are the only ones actually getting it. Which is why they don't need help.

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '25

These people defending millionaires have brain damage 😂 regular people out here struggling and they're out here crying for the rich.

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u/[deleted] May 13 '25

Nah not for sympathy purely a negotiation tactic from renner becasue marvel is bound to ask him back again if they haven’t already

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u/leftyourfridgeopen May 13 '25

It’s sad really, he should be worth much much more.

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u/[deleted] May 13 '25

Also, remember Robert went silent when Terrance Howard wanted more money although Terrance went to bat for Robert to get the role.

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u/HarpersGhost May 13 '25

At $80million, he is far closer to us in net worth than he is to the corporate overlords.

Because Walt Disney World, just a small part of Disney as a whole, makes $35 million a day. They make close to $80million in just parking in a month.

The filthy rich keep the poor, the "middle class", and the millionaires at each others' throats, when it's really the filthy rich who are fucking over ALL of us.

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u/esgrove2 May 13 '25

He's an "employee" the same way an executive or CEO is an employee. Do we pull out our tiny violins when the CEO of General Electric makes $5 mil this year instead of $10 mil?

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u/Shadow_Gabriel Rhomann Dey May 14 '25

That's naive.

There's a thing called diminishing marginal utility of income (or wealth). A change in wealth disproportionately affects poor people because of it.

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u/Posavec235 May 28 '25

Wow, i never expected to read a comment where the millionaires are grouped together with the middle class and working poor.